Throttle lock and release



c. u. BALLARD THROTTLE LOCK AND RELEASE April 27, 1965 Filed Aug. 1'7, 1962 c//4ef a 5,4%@420 IN VEN TOR.

BY ,arfae/Vf/f United States Patent 3,180,464 THROTTLE LUCK ANH) RELEASE Charles U. Ballard, 4253 W. Lennon Blvd., Inglewood, Calif. Filed Aug. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 217,759 1 Claim. (Cl. 19E- 3) This invention relates to a throttle lock and release for motor vehicles and more particularly to one wherein the vehicle is provided with an internal combustion engine having a fuel supply system and throttle pedal therefor and a hydraulic braking system.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a throttle lock and release which when the throttle pedal is depressed to increase the speed of the engine and of the vehicle, the throttle will be locked in the position to which it is moved by the pedal and wherein the throttle can be released from its locked position either by additional throttle pedal pressure, or pressure on the conventional foot brake pedal of the hydraulic braking system o the vehicle.

Another object is to provide an improved throttle lock and release wherein the throttle can be locked to a desired speed and released either by pressure upon the throttle pedal or the brake pedal, and will remain released until deliberately reset by the operator of the vehicle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a throttle lock including a lockable member movable with the conventional throttle actuating mechanism and a locking member wherein the locking member is biased to a released position and will engage the lockable member upon positive and deliberate action by the operator of the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a throttle lock and release which can be mounted easily and readily upon a motor vehicle and quickly and simply connected to the throttle actuating mechanism and the brake system l. of the vehicle.

The above and other objects will more fully appear from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention together with an engine carburetor and foot throttle control and the master cylinder and foot pedal of a hydraulic braking system;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View taken approximately on the line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG.l 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the mecha'nism as viewed in FIG. 2 with the throttle lock in its opposite or locked position.

There is illustrated generally an internal combustion engine carburetor 4 having a throttle valve 6 in its intake passage 8. A throttle lever is suitably connected to the throttle valve 6 in a conventional manner, and lever 10 is connected by a rod 12 to a throttle pedal 14, the latter being pivotally supported on a suitable bracket 16 on the fioorboard of the vehicle in the usual manner. A tension spring 18 is connected between the throttle operating rod 12 and a bracket 2t) which may be mounted on any suitable stationary support, such as a portion of the engine, to bias the throttle 6 toward the idling position of the engine. This of course will like- 'Maasai Patented Apr. 27,

wise bias the foot pedal 14 upwardly to its position of rest when no foot pressure is applied to it.

In the lower portion of FIG. l there is shown a conventional master cylinder 22 of a motor vehicle hydraulic brake system. A conduit 24 leads from the outlet of the cylinder to the brakes of the vehicle. A piston rod 26, whose piston (not shown) is moved to create pressure in the master cylinder 22, is connected by a clevis 28 to a foot brake lever 30 having a conventional pedal 32.

A bracket 34 has one portion thereof connected to a portion 35 of the internal combustion engine, or said bracket may be conveniently supported on any relatively stationary portion of the vehicle adjacent the throttle oper-ating rod 12. In the particular embodiment shown, the bracket 34 extends over the rod 12. Suspended from the bracket 34 by bolts 3S is the bottom plate 46' of my throttle lock control unit, indicated generally at 42. The bottom plate 40, as shown in FIG. 2, has a relatively small hat cylinder 44 extending upwardly therethrough and supported by a ilange 46 which rests on the face or said bottom plate 46. Resting upon the upper ilanged portion 46 of the cylinder 44 is a housing 48 which encloses an electromagnetic coil 50. In the upper portion of the housing 48 there is a transverse pin 52 which pivotally supports a locking member in the form of a dog 54. On the upper corner of the left side 56 of said dog is a tooth 69 which is adapted to engage any one of a number of points along a locking zone on a lockable member 62, the locking zone being defined by a series of teeth or serrations 64.

The lockable member 62 is shown in the form of an elongated squared bar which is slidable through opposed apertures in the upper portion of the housing 48. Said lockable member or bar 62 has threaded into its lett end a bolt 66 having an oifset ball 68 on the end thereof. The ball d8 is seated in the socketed end of a connecting link 70 and retained therein by a keeper clip 72. The opposite end or the link 79, as shown in FIG. 1, is connected by a pin 74 to a block 76 suitably secured on the throttle operating rod 12. The connection of the pin 74 with the link is by a ball and socket arrangement similar to the ball arrangement 68.

The cylinder 44 is shown connected at its bottom by means of a conduit 78 with the conduit 24 which leads from the master brake cylinder 22. Within the cylinder 44 is a piston 8l) having an O-ring packing 82 and normally urged downwardly by a compression spring 84 interposed between a shoulder 86 on the piston and the underside of the housing 4S, which encloses the electromagnetic coil 50. Seated in a suitable bore in the upper portion of the piston S0 is a dog releasing rod 88 which extends upwardly through a guide sleeve 90 in the center of the coil S6. The upper end of the rod 88, when elevated by the piston Si), will engage the underside of the pivoted dog portion 58 to swing the dog in a counterclockwise direction. Said dog is biased to the position shown in FIG. 2 wherein the dog tooth 60 is out of engagement with the rack 64. This is accomplished by means of a spring 92 having one arm bearing against the upper end of the electromagnetic coil unit 50 and the other end fitted in a slot 94 in the right arm 58 of the pivoted dog 54. An intermediate portion of the spring 92 is wrapped around the dog pivot pin 52 and the reclockwise directionsiliency of the spring is such. that its two arms are urged apart. Y Y

In the lower portion of the cylinder 44 is a threaded stud 96 which serves as a bleeder in the fluid line leading from thel hydraulic brake conduit 24 to the piston 44.V

The electromagnetic coil i), as diagrammatically indi- Y cated in FIG. 1, has one side provided with a ground connection 98 and the other side connected by wire 10i) to one side of a switch unit 102, the other side being con-y nected to the Vehicle battery 104. The switch is provided with a circuit closing button 106V which may be mounted conveniently on or adjacent the door of the vehicle at the v drivers side, on the upper end of the steering post or at Y Asorne'other suitable 'location forthe convenience ofV the ldrivenand the switch is so constructed Athat. the circuit from the battery through the'coilSdis maintained only so'long as the switch button 196 yis depressed. i

In operation, until the coil 50 is energized by closing of the switch 166, the locking member ordog 54 will remain in the ,position shown in FiG. 2. Thus, the operator of the vehicle can start the engine and drive the vehicle in -theusual manner and the throttle lock will remain inop- Verative or inthe released position of FIG. 2. However,

when the driver wishes to lock the throttle to maintain itat a xed open or .partially Yopen position, he. merely vpresses the switch button 136 while his foot holds the throttle pedal v14 at the position at which the desired i speed of the vehicle has been attained. As soon as the 4coil 5i) isenergized it will produce Van `electromagnetic attraction on the-right arm 58 of thepivot dog or locking 'member 54 and partially rotate the locking member in a l clockwise direction, pulling the arm 58 down and elevating the tooth 60 of the'locking member or dog so that it"will engage between two of the'teeth 64 on the recipfrocatinglockalble member or bar 62. The operator releases --foot pressure on the throttle pedal 14 while the I' switch'butto'n 1061is depressed so that the action of the throttle spring 18 will cause lone of`the'teethv64to press againsttheltooth 60 on the dog v54 and hold the locking `memb'er-and vlockable member -in engagement.

Obviously,-thetension of Ithe spring 18 on the throttle operating rod 12 is sufliciently great `to overcome .the strength of-'thespring-92'on the dog 54. AIn-actual vpractice the strengthofthe throttle -spring 18is sui'licie'ntly greater than the forcesof-the -Spring 92 just mentioned to main` tain `the dog'tooth 60 in engagement with rthe teeth 64 on the lockable member62 so that those teeth will remain in engagement even though the vehicle is subjected to considerable road shock and vibration.

Eventhough the dog 54 and toothed bar-62 Vare rrnly locked together by said dog, the llatter can be released Vquickly and easily from the lockable member 62fby very slight pressure on the throttle pedal V14. Such movement of the throttle pedal will'move the throttle operating rod 12, connectinglink 70'and lockable member 62 a Slight distance tothe left as viewed in FIGS. l Vand 2, and release the Vpiston 80 `and the rod 88 upwardly to engage the underside of the right armrSS of the pivoted dog 54 and 'forcing the dog tooth 60 out of engagement with the particular tooth 64 on the lockable member 62.

When the dog 54 is Adisengaged by pressure either upon the throttle pedal 1'4 or the brake pedal 32, thethrottle cannot again be locked in a fixed position until the operator presses the switch button 166 to again energize the electromagnetic coil 5()y and swing the' dog again in a motor vehicles.

-member 62, with its teeth 64, is provided with a threaded socket 1498. In the illustrated embodiment the throttle 6 is opened by pressure on the foot pedal 14 which moves the throttle rod 12-to the left as viewed in FIG. 1. In some motor vehicles pressure on the foot pedal will move the operating rod 12 in the opposite direction to open the throttle. In such a Vcase the housing 48 and the toothed bar or lockable member 62 are Vturned 180 degrees about the vertical axis of the housing and the threaded socket iii@ positioned to receive the bolt 66 with its ball end 68. it should ybe noted that should thehydraulicbrake conduit or the conduit '7S to the piston 44 break and lose pressure, the throttle lock can be released merely by pressure upon the throttle pedal 14. Also, lshouldthe throttle operating'rod 12 become disengaged from the throttle pedal 14, a slight pressure on the brake pedalSZ will disengage the throttle lock. Gf course if the linkage 7i) between the throttle lockA andthe throttle operating rod 12 become disengaged, the lock would ,have no effect upon the normal operation of the throttle.

it should also be noted that ythe locking member or dog 54 will not accidentallyobe jarred or jolted from Vits unlocked position of FlG. 2 into engagement with the teeth 64 on the lockable member 62. With the dog 54 held in its unlocked position, the spring 92 is of suicient strength to maintain the dog in its unlocked positionuntil it is intentionally'moved to the locked position byenergization ofrthe'coil 50. Y V Y Another feature of the structure is that'the locking mechanism which carries the locking member ordog S4 and the lockable member or toothed bar 62 and the carburetor 4 with its throttle 6 areV both mounted on the internal combustion engine so'that -the throttle locking unit and the throttle move together with the engine in any movement thereof.. -The connection'between thek throttle operating rod 12 and the throttle pedal 14 -is conventionally one which permits relative movementbetween the throttle pedal and the engine, and the hose 78 between the brake conduit V24 and the cylinder 44 is exible.

`The cylinder44 is connected to thepIeSSure-luid conduit 7 S without the use of a conventional screw coupling.

- The outer endof cylinder 44 is provided ,with a pair of concentric flanges V11@ and '112. The endof the conduit 78 is positioned between the flanges ,and the outer flange ,112 rolled or pressed inwardly to grip theend of said Y conduit 78. This connection, need not be made until the Ventire device is installed and consequently the cylinder 44 can be rotated to a desired position wherein the bleeder 96 is uprightl when the control unit 42 is 'placed lin a horizontal position as is required with some makes of portions off the various parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim: i i Y A throttle lock and release for a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine, a fuel supply device, a iluidpressure braking system and a throttle control systiem including afoot pedal 4having a movable operating connection with the fuel supply device including means for biasing said system to an engineidling position, comprising a lockable memberV having means for connection with said throttle control system and movable therewith toward and from said idling position, a locking member supportedy independently of said lockable member and movable into andout of engagement with the lockable member, momentarily eiective means for moving said VVlocking memberV into engagement with said lockable mem- W ithy ordinary screw threaded couplings,V it is usually difficult if not impossible to tighten them-rso` throttle control system to an idling position, said lockable member and said locking member having cooperating portions held in mutual movement blocking relationship by the bias of said throttle system biasing means, spring means connected to said locking member biasing it out of engagement with said lockable member, said cooperating portions being releasable by pressure on said foot pedal in opposition to said throttle system biasing means, and a locking member release having means for uid pressure connection with said braking system and having a portion thereof positioned adjacent said locking member to release the locking member from the lockable member upon brake application.

6 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,284,380 5 42 Drabble. 5 2,467,485 4/ 49 Krieg. 2,487,606 1l/49 Smith.

FOREIGN PATENTS 706,420 3 /31 France.

lo DAVID I. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. 

